Gujarat Police bust major cyber fraud racket, eight held in Rs 826-crore scam

Gujarat Police arrests 8 in alleged Rs 826 crore scam. File pic

The Gujarat police on Wednesday arrested eight people for opening 82 bank accounts in the name of fake companies in connection with a Rs 826-crore scam, police said, PTI reported.

The accused after opening fake bank accounts further provided them to cybercriminals for committing frauds.

The arrests were made in connection with a probe into a nationwide cyber fraud involving more than Rs 826 crore, the officials said, according to the PTI.

Superintendent of Police Rajdeepsinh Zala, while briefing about the case, asserted, "Under Operation Mule Hunt in Gujarat, the Cyber Centre of Excellence arrested eight individuals from Surat who were allegedly involved in 1,229 cybercrime cases across India, with offences amounting to Rs 826 crores," as per PTI.

Fraudsters opened 82 fake bank accounts

A total of 82 bank accounts were allegedly opened by the accused in the name of nine fake firms to conceal their identities. The accused who are now in custody then allegedly shared the details of the bank accounts with the cybercriminals, who targeted citizens.

The police officials further highlighted that the cybercriminals used SMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram to create fake identities and cheated the public by offering them plans to make "more" money, which was transferred to these fake bank accounts.

The arrested persons have been identified as Abdulrab Abdul Qadir Chambadiya, Faizan Hanif Jusani, Sheikh Mohammed Zuber Mehboob, Mohammad Noor Ahmad Merchant, Yasin Noor Ahmed Merchant, Sarfaraz Mohammed Rafiq Juneja, Sheikh Sajid Mayuddin, and Memon Abdul Razak Ahmed; all of them hail from Surat.

Officials, while briefing more about the operation, said that the accused earned commissions of varying amounts per account. Besides transferring money through these accounts to cyber gangs, the accused also withdrew cash and routed it through hawala.

Mumbai businessman loses Rs 9.71 lakh after opening APK file

In a different scenario, a 53-year-old businessman from Mumbai's Goregaon lost Rs 9.71 lakh after falling victim to a cyber fraud linked to a fake e-challan message received on WhatsApp.

According to the police complaint, the fraud came to light when the businessman checked his bank statement and noticed three unauthorised IMPS debit transactions totalling Rs 9,71,380. The debits included amounts of Rs 500, Rs 4.80 lakh and Rs 4.90 lakh, all carried out without his knowledge or consent.

(With inputs from PTI)